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thank you all very much for the discussion. i appreciate good morning on this monday. here's what's coming up next on

"first look." argo won for best picture. there was the glitz, glamour and a surprise by michelle obama, too. the white house releases state by state report on the devastating impact that a sequester will have on jobs and middle-class families. more pain at the pump. with prices rising. and the pope in his final week and daytona 500 winner. plus, another blizzard bearing down on multiple states. "first look" starts right now. it was hollywood's biggest night of the year and thes on can car parties are still going on at this moment. the stars lined up on the red carpet where the competition for best dressed brings as much buzz as the ceremony inside. stephanie sent theon is outside the dolby theater.

>> reporter: the historic drama argo won best picture. an emotional moment for the film's star/producer/director. >> "argo." >> reporter: the academy award's biggest prize went to the rescue of american hostages from iran. >> i thank everyone on the movie. >> reporter: affleck produced, directed and start in the movie. >> "lie of pi." >> reporter: life of pi won four awards. beating lincoln director steven spielberg. >> reporter: lincoln did make some movie history. daniel day-lewis became the

firs first-three-time winner at the oscars. winning oscar for the first time was jennifer lawrence, the "silver linings playbook" star took a stumble on her way up to the star. >> thank you. >> reporter: christoph waltz. >> reporter: dajano unchanged to won his second oscar for best supporting actor. while consequent yen tarantino won his second for best original scre screenplay. two years after co-hosting the oscars, anne hathaway was back to win one. >> it came true. >> reporter: a feeling shared by others. after the show the stars went out to celebrate at the governors ball and several of the hollywood's after-party. as for seth macfarlane is the jury is still out.

he got a few laughs. the reviews on his performance have been mixed. reporting from hollywood i'm stephanie stanton. history at the daytona 500, a terrible crash and an exciting finish. in the final lap , jimmie johnsn poured it on to win. danica patrick set several records for women. >> reporter: there was no no stopping nascar's super bowl. the daytona 500 went on as planned. a day after a nightmarish crash on the very same track. 28 fans were hurt. 12 admitted to local hospitals. some were seated 40 rows up when a car on the last lap of a race crashed into the fence and split apart, sending chunks of metal and a tire high into the grandstand. >> we were really shook up. i mean, just because we thought that this really happened and we were so close. >> i think the key is, we sit

down and review everything in terms of what happened. >> reporter: the other headline of the day, the historic pole position start for danica patrick, who also became the first female to lead a lap in a nascar race. danica's own dreams weren't fulfilled here. an eighth-place finish for a young woman who said that she's getting started. congress gets back to work today with just days to come up with a plan to avoid automatic spending cuts. the white house is warning of fallout to both domestic and mill stair spending. where some are saying that the obama administration is calling wolf. >> exaggerating the impact of these cuts? >> absolutely. it's a terrible way to cut spending. i don't disagree with that. to not cut 2% out of the total budget over a year where it's twice the size it was two years ago, give me a break. i didn't support the sequester

because that's a stupid way to cut spending. >> reporter: meanwhile, a recent poll finds an overwhelming majority would hold republicans responsible for those cuts go into play. >> reporter: let's talk about the exaggeration, the white house now with some very detailed information on what they think will be the impact of these cuts, including 10,000 teachers losing their jobs. fbi agents, border patrol agents. food inspections that won't happen as a result of this. president obama speaking last night to governors here in washington at a white house reception, said that while you face times in the past we got some tough choices ahead and they're giving a state by state breakdown on what the impact will be there. here on capitol hill, congress gets back to work, today, but the question is, with just four

days left, will they actually get something done to prevent these cuts from happening on friday, right now, no real sense of compromise, four days and counting now here's your "first look" at this morning's dish of "scrambled politics." one of the biggest surprises at the oscars originated from washington. jack nicholson was about to announce the winner when michelle obama appeared from the white house the white house kept it very secret that michelle obama had been asked to make the first-ever appearance by the first lady to present an award. >> every day through engagement in the arts, our children learn to open their imaginations, to dream just a little bigger and to strive every day to reach those dreams.

and i want to thank you all of you here tonight for being a part of that vitally important work. >> next montana state representative steve lavin proposing a law that will allow votes in municipal rules. . >> lavin said there's a lot of good meat being wasted out there, it's illegal to take road kill of sheep, bobcats because they're worth more. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. a major blizzard bearing down on the midwest right now. nbc's dylan dreyer with the forecast.

>>. >> we are going to see a big blizzard move through the middle of the country. this is the second one in just a week. we have perhaps a foot of snow on its way through oklahoma, into portions of kansas, and you can see that the heavy snow right now is falling across the panhandle of texas and the panhandle of oklahoma with heavier snow continuing through central kansas right now. other than that, severe storms possible through the gulf states today. severe thunderstorm watches in event and we also have blizzard warnings in effect through oklahoma and parts of texas. winter weather watches are stretching up into the chicago area, that is an area especially tomorrow, that will start to see some of the heavier snow, right now the snow is isolated to texas and oklahoma and kansas.

still, 6 to 12 inches possible in kansas city, where they are still digging out from last week's storm. >> be careful on the roads. dylan, thank you. we'll tell you which songs are likely to move the market on this weekend. "first look" is back in three minutes. [ nyquil bottle ] hey tylenol, you know we're kinda like twins. [ tylenol bottle ] we are? yeah we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. and i relieve nasal congestion. overachiever.

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. welcome back. some stiers we're watching right now. sticker shock at the pump. as gas prices continue to soar. $3.08. according to a new survey that's nearly 54 cents a you jump. afghan president hamid karzai ordered all u.s. sperp force opes to leave within two weeks.

south african olympic oscar pistorius sunt the only one accused of killing someone. oscar's older brother carl is charged with culpable homicide. the equivalent of negligent homicide. his attorney maintains that he's innocent. pope benedict gave his final sunday blessing in st. peter's square before abdicating friday. he's not abandoning the church but will serve it in a way that's more supportable for his age and strength. business news. the dow opens the week at 14,000 after closing 119 points friday. the s&p 500 rose 13. overseas markets also saw gains. the nikkei gained 277. the nikkei is at 53-month high.

the japanese government plans to n nominate him to head the committee. earnings for lowe before the bell. after today's bell caesar's will weigh in its quarterly report card. we'll see how hertz is farg. keep an eye on yum brands. they're going to crack down on quality control. the company said that china sales which account 40% of its bottom line could drop 25% this quarter. department chains macy's and jcpenney will duke it out over who has the right to martha

stewart. and talk about a good value. oscar nominee helen hunt proudly wore a classic navy strapless gown from h&m on the red carpet last night. that said, she did accessorized with three-quarters of a million dollars in jewelry. not bad. coming up -- ohio state takes on michigan state as march madness gets even closer. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points

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80 calorie chocolate cereal. ♪ chocolate. welcome back. it's coming down to the wire. four days until automatic spending cuts that will effect that will sidelined millions of government workers. joining me now is boris enstein. he's a contributor for the daily caller. boris, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. >> you know, lawmakers, boris, are going to continue to cobble out this deal this week, i wanted to z you, you're a republican strategist, what do you make of the republican strategy so far, and do you feel at this point that there's any chance for compromise? >> there was. this was punt from the 2011 compromise. there's a chance that they'll

come together. >> all right, so you do believe that this issue is being overblown, because, earlier, we were listening to republican senator tom coburn of oklahoma saying that the president is absolutely calling wolf on how the country will be impacted of these cuts. >> the president proposed the sequester. if you look at the numbers, the discretionary spending 40% in the last four years. this will only curtail this. >> but still, boris, this pew research poll shows that 49% of respondents that are republicans are going to be responsible if

these cuts go into effect. only 31% said they'll blame the president. what do you make of these numbers? >> if these cuts go into effect, they're not widespread, then those numbers from the poll will change. because, the cuts are not going to be felt far and wide. like the president is trying to say they are. >> all right, we'll see what happens on friday. boris, republican strategy, thank you. here's your "first look" at some of the other news going on around america right purr. california, a major melee between college baseball teams. a bench-clearing brawl through sacramento and uc-riverside. next to chicago, rowdy teens stared up chaos inside a mall. >> they were jumping up on top of cars. knocking out windshields,

rearview mirrors. trying to get in stores. stopping traffic. throwing stuff at police. >> all right, check this out. on to new york city now for the sixth annual world sword-swallowing day. they celebrate their craft. all for a good cause, of course. the event raises money for cancer research. sports now. an upset of one of the top teams in college ball. number 18 ohio state against michigan state. the buckeyes held off the part owens for the win. to the nba, kobe bryant hit 14 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter against the dallas mavericks and the mavs' dirk nowitzki had 30 points. but lakers got the win. and david beckham made his debut for his french team while

his wife vehicle tore ya watched on. the longest and toughest snowmobile race in the world. for another look at the weather here's nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer with the weather channel forecast. snow, snow and more snow. >> the area through texas, through the panhandle of oklahoma and also up into kansas, kansas city, as well, will start to see a whole lot of snow, it's coming down right now, heavy at times, through the panhandle of texas and oklahoma. as we go into tomorrow, it will move through kansas city and even up into chicago, which is already under a winter weather watch.

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. these were the 85th annual academy awards. significant 85 also happens to be the average weight of the women on the red carpet. instead of asking who are you wearing, they should ask, when are you eating?

>> one more time. >> "les miserables." >> thank you, john travolta. dazzling. from naomi watts to charlize theron and jessica chastain metallics and white were big hits. jennifer lawrence wore this gown, peared nicely with her new best actress oscar. let's not forget quvenzhane wallis and her purse. this 9-year-old big weekend got everything bigger. she'll be playing the title role in "annie." will smith and jay-z will be producing the film which was